There is a combination camera and videocassette recorder that has a display panel openable and closable to a body and controls display on the display panel in accordance with an opening/closing or rotating state of the display panel (e.g., see Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 8-275097).
More specifically, in the case where the user can view the display panel, display is made on the display panel. In the case where the user cannot view the display panel, display is not made on the display panel. This negates the need for the user to enable or disable display on the display panel in accordance with a state of the display panel, thereby making it possible to improve the usability.
In the combination camera and videocassette recorder described in patent document 1, for example, the user selects a desired operation mode from among operation modes such as a shooting mode (recording mode) in which the user shoots a subject and records the obtained image, a playback mode in which the user displays an image played back (hereinafter referred to as a playback image) from a specified recording medium on the display panel, and the like. Further, in the case where the combination camera and videocassette recorder is turned on for example, the operation mode is the one that the user has selected, irrespective of a state of the display panel.
Consequently, in the case where user's desired operation modes vary with states of the display panel, when the user changes the opening/closing or rotating state of the display panel and then turns the power on, the user unpreferably has to select a new desired operation mode in the present state of the display panel. That is, in the case where the user does not select a new operation mode, the operation mode that the user has selected is optimal for the user before changing the state of the display panel, but not optimal for the user after changing the state of the display panel. Accordingly, the user needs to select a new optimal operation mode after changing the state of the display panel.
According to an embodiment of the present invention, an operation mode at power-on can be set to an optimal operation mode for a user in accordance with a state of a display panel unit.